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Worry versus Faith

I just finished reading an email from a very dear, long time friend. And like a lot of people he is struggling with some health issues. His concern isn’t for himself, it’s for his wife. He doesn’t want to leave her alone. And concern for a spouse or child can nearly cripple one’s faith. My friend said in his email, “Guess I need to do more visiting with God. He’s the only one who can really do anything about my worry. Of course there is the thought He’s helping me as I sit here talking to you only because there’s not many I share my worries with. Most people will say ‘don’t worry, everything will be fine.’ Have the feeling these same people would worry every bit as I do when problems are in there own world.“

My dear friend thinks he needs more time with God, and he is most assuredly right. But that is true for all of us. Just a few minutes a day are not enough. We often pay more attention to our outward appearance than we do the condition of our soul and spirit.

But the truth is, no matter how worrisome life gets, Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

I have experienced horribly trying times when the most frequently heard statement of support or encouragement was just as my friend said, “don’t worry, everything will be fine“.

But when you are standing at the bedside of someone you love and their life is in danger, it is a difficult thing to believe that everything is going to be fine and not to worry.

But Jesus said, “don’t worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34) and the Apostle Paul said, “don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)

None of our tomorrows are guaranteed. But if we hold fast to our faith, our future is.

I love the TV programs that show how things are built and made. One program recently detailed how tall skyscrapers are built. Modern building techniques have improved the strength of these structures but one thing hasn’t changed, and that is that the higher the building goes, the deeper the foundation has to be.

And the same is true of our faith in Christ. The closer we walk with Him, the deeper our faith will be.

Like a skyscraper, an iceberg has more under the surface of the water than shows above. Our faith may appear to us as small, but if we are giving the Lord the first fruits of our time and energy, the part of our faith that will hold us steady in the storms of life will be much larger than we can see.

So to any and all who are being tried in one way or another, remember what it says in Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. For our ancestors won God’s approval by it. By faith we understand that the universe was created by God’s command, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.”

And finally, one of the most valuable verses in the Bible, Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.”